Edgar or Eadgar 944-75
English King

The younger son of King Edmund of Wessex, he was made King of Northumbria and Mercia (957) and succeeded to Wessex on his brother Eadwig's death (959), thus becoming ruler of a united England. He recalled St Dunstan from exile and made him his closest adviser and Archbishop of Canterbury. In 973 he was formally crowned and received the submission of all the kings in Britain. His reign was one of secure peace and prosperity, with the acceptance of the Danelaw as a separate but integral part of England, under his nominal authority. He is renowned for his legal codes, his coinage reform and his revival of the English Church. His two sons became Edward, the Martyr, and Ethelred II (the Unready).

Bibliography: Helen Panter, King Edgar (1971)